Roxy: Do what you have to do
by vermilioun
Summary: An alpha kid apocalypse AU. A virus has infected most of the human population, and victims are subjected to extreme pain, and ultimately death. Bodies of the dead are scattered everywhere and once they burst the immediate air around them is infected, making nowhere safe. People have turned on each other to fight for food and medicine, and danger lurks around every corner.


"Roxy, do you see Jane and Jake?" You shake your head at Dirk. Your little group of four split up two days ago to search the area. You weren't looking for anything in particular, but your eyes were peeled for shelter, food, and other supplies. You needed to find some more ammunition for your rifle and Jake's pistols, too, since you were running low from a scuffle yesterday. It would be bad if another enemy band caught you unaware and unarmed. They would take what little provisions you had and who knows what else they'd do.

"That would be a negative, DiStri," you respond, checking over your shoulder. Currently you and Dirk were walking through the city towards the rendezvous point. If you were lucky you would run into the other half of your group before you reached it and you could move again before night fell.

"We should come across them soon, don't you think?" Dirk wondered aloud. You glanced sideways at him and watched his eyes dart back and forth worriedly, scanning the streets in front of you.

"Body up ahead, watch out." You lifted your scarf to cover your mouth as Dirk grabbed your arm and pulled you to the other side of the street. You looked at the corpse he had spotted across the way. It was unlikely a virus victim, probably someone shot down during a skirmish, but you could never be too careful anymore. The two of you gave the body plenty of space and continued walking.

"I'm sure we'll meet up with them soon," you say in reply to Dirk's earlier question. "They're fine Dirk, both of them are too smart to let anything happen to each other."

Dirk sighed. "I know bu-"

He didn't get to finished as a shot rang out. The two of you jumped apart, Dirk ducking behind a car and you darting around a pillar of a car park. Immediately you go down on one knee, the butt of your rifle snug against your shoulder. You glance around warily before settling your gaze on Dirk. You assess his figure quickly and are satisfied with what you see. No bleeding wounds are visible and he isn't in any pain. You nod to him as you see him checking you over too, a little sign that you're all right.

He nods and motions to a third story window of a building on the other side of an intersection. You almost want to giggle at how aware of the situation Dirk is and how he found the enemy already, but this isn't the time for laughter.

You signal that you see the enemy and flatten your back against the pillar. Closing your eyes and taking a deep breath, you count to three. As you reach the last number you lean out from behind your pillar, searching quickly for the open window. It doesn't take long for you to set your sight on the target. You pull the trigger and take the recoil of your rifle with a neutral expression. You know you hit your mark. You always do. You never miss.

You hear Dirk stand up, his shoes scuffling on the concrete. You reload your weapon and close your eyes again. You didn't think you would ever be okay with the thought of shooting another person, even if it meant your own survival.

Dirk shouting your name startles you out of your reverie. Your eyes snap open to see a figure lunging at you, arm raised. Something glints in the fading sunlight and you realize that he has a knife. Just in time you move to the side and the knife only cuts into the fleshy part of your arm, instead of your chest like it was supposed to. The man with the knife reels back, raising his arm to strike again. You quickly scramble to your feet, trying to remember if you have your own knife on you or if you can reach the pistol in your backpack in time.

But you realize it doesn't matter. Your attacker is on the ground, blood pouring out of his throat and staining the ground. Dirk stands over him, staring down at his katana dripping with blood. He sighs after a moment and rips off a piece of the dead man's shirt, wiping off the katana before sheathing it once more.

"You okay?" Your companion asks, concern visible in his expression. You nod, but Dirk frowns and steps over to you.

"Roxy, you're bleeding," he scolds, taking a hold of your arm. He takes off his backpack and takes out a strip of cloth. He makes sure to wrap it carefully before looking at the man and frowning again.

"He doesn't seem infected, but you should still have Jane look at it when we meet up."

You nod, smiling a little at how he's acting. You would never tell him, but Dirk acted more like a worried mother than anyone else in the group sometimes. Everyone was concerned for the safety of their friends, but sometimes you just had to smile at Dirk. He really wasn't as "cool" as he once liked to think. You realize he had probably long ago abandoned he thoughts of a cool persona, but the thought still amused you.

Dirk just rolled his eyes at your smile, seemingly out of place, and leads you out of the car park. You're both on edge now, eyes shifting warily as you walk down the street. The city was mostly abandoned or dead, but what survivors were left could ambush you at any second, just like the two people at the intersection.

You had been walking for about ten minutes when you heard the shout.

"Help!" Your head snapped to the side to look up at Dirk, eyes wide as you hear a familiar voice. Without saying a word the two of you take off in a dead sprint towards the sound of the voice. You know it can't be good if your comrades were willing to shout in a hostile city.

You rounded a street corner and you saw them. Two dark haired figures, one leaning on the other for support. Your breath catches in your throat and you pray is isn't anything serious. A twisted ankle, sudden fatigue, something not life threatening.

You and Dirk reach Jane and Jake and come to stop. You take in the scene before you and your hand flies to your mouth, eyes watering. Dirk stands beside you, silent and horrified.

Jane is pale, very, very pale. Her shirt was stained red and saturated with blood. She was conscious, but barely. Jane groaned and coughed, and you took a step back as blood splattered the street in front of her. She falls and takes Jake down with her. The latter looks slightly better than Jane, but not by much. He grimaces with every breath he takes, as if it's the hardest thing in the world for him to do.

"Oh no," you breath, for lack of anything else to say. And what else could you say? Two of your best friends are in front of you, in obvious pain, infected with the virus. Instinctively you bring your scarf up around your mouth, and you want to cry at the motion. You only ever did that to prevent yourself from breathing in contaminated air. And the fact that you had to do that around your friends only made thing worse.

"We…ran into…an enemy band," Jake said through gritted teeth. "There were…two infected among…them and I sh-shot one who was coming up…behind Jane. H…he managed to get a stab…at her a-" He broke off as a fit of coughing racked his body and he spat up blood like Jane had.

"Stop talking Jake, we can do something, there's got to be something we can do!" Dirk said insistently, pulling his backpack off his shoulders. He begins to rummaged through it desperately, hoping to find a miracle where he knew he wouldn't fine one.

"And some of his in…infected blood got…into Jane's wound w-when I shot him," Jake continued to ramble on, not heeding Dirk's demand. He laughed bitterly, or tried to, as he only ended up doubled over in pain. "It's…my fault we…we're dying. I should…should've l-let her handle…it."

"Jake, _stop talking_," Dirk ground out. Your vision blurred as more tears welled up in your eyes before falling and tracking through the grime on your face. You watched Jane, who was so quiet but obviously suffering. There were bruises all over her, and you didn't want to think about how much internal bleeding the virus was probably causing. You had seen the corpses of virus victims, and they were never pretty.

Two of your friends lay on the ground writhing in pain. The third tried to cling to hope that you never had the luxury of having.

"D…dirk," Jake moaned, face contorted into and ugly expression. "Get out…of here," he gasped, clutched at his throat. "T-take Roxy and l…leave. We…we're as good…as dead."

"No! I won't leave you two behind, you're coming with us!"

Jake's only response was crying out as the virus attack his body from the inside. Jane made a noise that sounded like something halfway between a sob and a scream. The two dark haired members of your group were suffering and you couldn't do anything.

"Stay with me Jake, Jane! You have to stay awa-"

_Bang! Bang!_

Your vision was clouded and all you could hear was the blood rushing through your ears. You could feel the tears streaming down your face. Your entire body was numb and shaking. Dirk stared at you as you dropped the pistol and fell to your knees. You put your head in your hands and sobbed. Your entire body shook as gross cries escaped your throat.

Somewhere through it you felt Dirk scoop you up, no doubt carrying you away from them. From your dead friends. Away from the murder scene of two people you loved. You felt him set you down again and draw you to him. His body didn't shake like yours did, but you knew he was mourning just as much as you were.

Your name is Roxy Lalonde and you killed your friends.


End file.
